Historia

The Department of Electronics of Federico Santa Maria Technical University, UTFSM, was founded in 1982. Until then, electronics engineering was included in the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, one of the Faculties established by the foundation of UTFSM in 1933. As a part of the above mentioned Faculty, the Civil Electronics Engineering career was established, perhaps first of its kind in America. The first Civil Electronics engineers graduated in 1964. Later the Execution Electronics Engineering career was incorporated. These careers have continued in the Department of Electronics and, in 2003, the Civil Telematics Engineering career there was added to this Department, being also this career perhaps the first of its kind in America.

In 1962 doctorate activities of began in the Faculty, and later, the masters programs. Within the Department, which has expanded very considerably since then, the Teaching, Post-graduate programs, Research and Development, Technical Support and Publication have reached a level of excellence recognized by external evaluation entities.

Global Electronics Genesis

It is a well known fact that electro technology started in the 19th century with discoveries, inventions, activities and services in areas now normally considered as electronics engineering, particularly in the generation, distribution and use of electrical energy, in domestic and industrial environments.

These disciplines were designed or known as pertaining to strong currents or low frequency. Electronics was born in the beginning of the 20th century thanks to scientific advances and inventions in areas of thermionics and thermoplasmonics which originated the thermionic valves. These permitted the development of electronic communications, industrial drivers and the first electronic computers.

Further, in the second half of the 20th century, electronics began based on semiconductors and quantum technologies. In general, these activities or disciplines came to be known as pertaining to low currents or high frequency. In the main industrial countries all electro technology or electricity related disciplines continued, and continue to be a part of electrical engineering, with specific electrical and electronic specializations, but with common root and branches. Also, in the beginning, and in many countries, electrical engineering, including electronics, was incorporated to the civil engineering, and was not recognized as a separate specialization. This situation was also common to Chile until to the creation of UTFSM, in the 1930s institution that introduced Electrical Engineering, among careers.

It is necessary to add that in the USA, leader in many of these disciplines, universities support electrical engineering departments, which include electronics engineering, although there are also joint departments of electrical engineering and computer science. In other advanced nations there is differentiation between electrical engineering and of electronic engineering departments. This innovation was introduced in Chile by the UTFSM in 1982. It is interesting to mention also that the engineers who are employed in the USA in these disciplines founded the AIEE, dedicated to strong currents, and the IRE, dedicated to low currents, which merged, in the decade of 1960, as the IEEE, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the biggest professional international association, having a wide range of associations specialized in the electricity, electronics, telecommunications, and telematics fields, among many others.

UTFSM Electro technology Faculty

UTFSM founded on the 1930s, innovated fundamentally in the Chilean engineering by establishing the Electrical Engineering career, among others. The UTFSM was composed of the School of Arts and Trades and of the School of Engineers. Three Faculties were constituted following the German model, one of which, the Faculty of Electro technology, which provided a six-year Electrical Engineering career, and a four-year Technical Electrician career.

Further on, after the law required the creation of the Chilean School of Engineers and the School of Execution Engineers, these UTFSM careers were named Civil Electrical Engineering and of Execution Electrical Engineering , respectively. The professionals that belonged to the School of Arts and Trades, and to other Head offices that the UTFSM created in Viña Mar and Talcahuano, went on to the Electrical Technician' category in Electricity, among other specialties.

The creation of the above mentioned Electrical Engineering careers was very important for the emergent electrification and industrialization of Chile in the 1940s and 1950s, and has continued to be prominent. The engineering careers of the UTFSM were structured in annual programs, with mandatory and fixed subjects, without elective courses. The electrical engineering programs included, in addition to scientific, engineering sciences, technological and humanistic subjects, electrical and electronic Engineering courses. This way, the electrical engineers obtained the necessary preparation to perform in electrical